(rshsdepot) Hell's Gate

["fred fep" <luckyshow_@_mindspring.com>]

The explosion was the largest ever until Hiroshima.


NAMES OF LONG ISLAND CITY

Discover the origins of the names of Long Island City. Also, compare the 
former street names with current names on the Street Names page.

Anable Canal (at the end of 45th road)
Built in 1868 by Henry Anable son-in-law developer of Dr. E. Nott of 
Hunter's Point. During construction, a large mastodon bone was found and 
put on display in a local store window.

Astoria Boulevard
Started by Steven Halsey, "The Father of Astoria," in 1835 as a direct 
route to Flushing. Called the "Hallet's Cove and Flushing Turnpike 
Company."

Beebe Avenue or 39th Avenue
Named for George W. Beebe who had a home at the foot of 36th Avenue on 
the East River. He was a Wall Street banker and lived there from 1850 to 
about 1885.

Bennetts Hook
See "Hunter's Point"

Berrien Island
Cornelius Berrien bought the island and land adjacent to it in 1727. The 
family farmed it until 1853.

Bliss Street or 46rd Street
Named for Neziah Bliss, a friend of Robert Fulton, was a steam boat 
builder from Greenpoint, Brooklyn. His interest in boat building led to 
experiments in ship building with Dr. Nott. This friendship turned to 
real estate speculation in the 1830s. Dr. Nott and Mr. Bliss were 
partners in developing Hunter's Point.

Blissville
Old name for the Second Ward. Small community near Calvary Cemetery on 
Newton Creek. Mid nineteenth century real estate project of Neziah 
Bliss.

Borden Avenue
Built in 1870 to connect Dutch Kills and Blissville on Newtown Creek 
Named for Col. William Borden, an owner of real estate and a colonel in 
the Seventh Regiment in New York.

Bowery Bay
All the land to the west of Steinway was granted by the Dutch to their 
Reformed Church, whose Deacons set up a farm ("bowerie") for maintenance 
of the poor. The farm extended to Flushing Bay and included what is now 
La Guardia Airport.

Bowery Bay Road or 20th Road
Described as an Indian trail running from Hazen Street to the East 
River.

Burger's Sluice
A ditch ran parallel and directly south of Northern Boulevard that fed 
into a tide mill in today's Sunnyside Yards and Bridge Plaza where a 
tide mill ground wheat. The mill stones from the mid-1640s were 
preserved by the Paytar Family and are imbedded in the sidewalk at 
Bridge Plaza. They are the earliest European artifacts in Queens

Degnon Terminal
Named for Michael J. Degnon, president of Degnon Contracting Co. and the 
contractor on the Steinway tunnel

Dominies Hook
See "Hunter's Point"

Dutch Kills
Named for a group of plantations issued to Dutch settlers in the early 
1640s, as banners of the local Dutch Kills Civic Association proudly 
boast. This is the location of the first European settlement in western 
Queens. Indian name is "Canapaukah" which may mean "land on the long 
water." "Kill" is Dutch for "Creek."

Ditmars Boulevard
The earliest Ditmars ancestor was Jan Jansen Ditmarsen (John the Son of 
John from Ditmars) who immigrated to this country from Holstein in 
Germany. The first Ditmars settled in Dutch Kills about 1647. Ditmars 
Boulevard and the East River the was the site of Dr. Dow Ditmars' home. 
The doctor, who died in 1860 at 90, was held in high esteem by the 
community. A son, Abram Ditmars, later became the first Mayor of Long 
Island City in 1870.

Ely Avenue or 23rd Street
Charles Ely was a partner of Rev. Eliphant Nott, the developer of 
Hunter's Point. In the early 1850s, Mr. Ely was hired to level hills and 
fill in swamps to create lots for prospective developers.

Emerald Street
See "Van Alst Street"

German Settlement
The United Cabinet Workers Cooperative Association purchased several 
farms on Broadway between 35th Street and 50th Street in 1870. Thousands 
of home sites were sold developing the central Astoria/Steinway Street 
area.

Gleasonville
Property owned by Long Island City's last colorful Mayor, Battle-Axe 
Gleason. Property was north of Northern Boulevard in Woodside. He formed 
the "Citizens Water Supply Co." and attempted to sell water to Long 
Island City.

Hallet's Cove
Location of estate of William Hallet, Sr. who in 1652 received a grant 
of land in what is today Astoria. He also purchased land from the 
Indians (the deed still exists in the State Archives in Albany.)

Hazen Street
One source suggested that Hazen, a family name, was a variant spelled 
Heffard (in Flushing) and Hazard (in Rhode Island)

Hell Gate
The name is obscure, the Dutch rendering, "Hellgat," translated as "open 
passage" (to Long Island Sound. Certainly it earned its reputation as a 
difficult waterway with tricky tides and many obstructions given such 
colorful names as the Gridiron, Pot Rock, Hen & Chickens, Niggerhead, 
Bald-headed Billy, Shell Drake Rock, Frying Pan Rock, and Way's and 
Bread & Cheese Reefs. Indian legend held that at low tide it was 
possible to jump to each reef crossing Hell Gate without swimming. 
During the Revolution, a
British pay ship "Hussar" sank at in the passage, but no treasure was 
recovered (some suspect the sinking was a cover-up for theft of the 
money.) During much of the nineteenth century, the Hell Gate Pilots 
Association guided ships through the passage. In the 1870s the reefs 
were blasted; supposedly the explosion was heard as far away as Newark.

...from http://www.astorialic.org/topics/names.htm

=================================
The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

------------------------------